Veterans Pantry - Carman Avenue

Caring for East Meadow's veterans

Hidden behind Nassau University Medical Center is a spot dedicated just to veterans. Building Q, off of Carman Avenue, houses the Veterans Service Agency, the Veterans Affairs Clinic and a food pantry just for veterans.

The Veterans Food Pantry — or “Vet Mart” — has been open since 2015, said Ralph Esposito, the director of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency. “I did this because there was a need for veterans,” Esposito said. “They go into the local pantries, but I said, ‘You know what? I have the room. Why don’t I just make a pantry here?’”

The VA Clinic, in conjunction with the service agency, provides primary and specialty health care for veterans, which includes mental health services. The pantry is run solely by volunteers, Esposito said.

The Vet Mart feeds about 600 people a month, which includes veterans and their families. Volunteers also deliver food to those who can’t make it there.

Veterans are allowed to come by for food once a week. Only staff members go into the pantry itself, so a menu is given to the veterans to fill out whatever they need and how much they need depending on if they’re only feeding themselves or a family.

Even though it’s a food pantry, it has everything a person or family could need. “We have food, we have diapers, we have toothpaste and toothbrushes, razors and shaving cream,” Esposito said. “I have anything you can think of, within reason.”

To get the ball rolling some years ago, Esposito reached out to two food banks — Island Harvest and Long Island Cares — as well as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts to spread the word and arrange for food supplies. The pantry is open Monday through Friday.

— Mallory Wilson

Mallory Wilson/Herald photos Top: Ralph Esposito, the head of the food pantry and director of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, keeps the pantry stocked and ready for anyone who needs food. Bottom:: Volunteers Ray Nordquist, left and James Merritte gather the food that veterans request.